Steve
Maybe there is some more Natural Selection happening. It could be that the
"strongest" chick is the first one able to break out of the shell and also
is "stronger" in grabbing food from the parent and therefore grows biggest
quickly and is able to kill off the weaker ones, thus preserving the
"strongest" genes.
Is it possible also that the parent does some selection in choosing which
gaping mouth to put the most food in? It's an interesting question.
Bob Cook
Mildura VIC.
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Steve Clark
Sent: Wednesday, 16 November 2005 11:15 AM
To:
Subject: Kookaburra chick agression
G'day all
On TV last night (ABC - Sex in the Bush) there was discussion of how the
first
Kookaburra chick to hatch will try to kill its siblings.
Would it be correct that the eggs hatch in the order they were laid? If so
then
the first chick to hatch would be bigger than the others just because it is
older. What is the evolutionary explanation for this? What is the
guarantee
that the first chick to hatch has the best genes? Given an equal start, one
of
the others might have the best genes? After all, chances are they all have
different fathers.
Am I missing something?
Cheers
Steve Clark
Hamilton, Victoria
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